Apparatus for making cored threads and the like



R. .P. ROBERTS ET AL APPARATUS FOR MAKING CORED THREADS AND THE LIKE Dec. 8, 1936,

Filed Sept. 18, 1935 m SNYM TDEm TAw R wmw RW Patented Dec. 8, 1936 APPARATUS FOR CORED THREADS AND THE LIKE Robert Pierce Roberts, William Harry Kimpton,

and Robert McVane Dingley, Spondon, near Derby, England, assignors to Celanese Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Application September 18, 1935, Serial No. 41,080 In Great Britain September 28, 1934 4 Claims.

This invention relates to lapping or covering apparatus in which a core filament, yarn or thread (hereinafter referred to as thread) is covered with a material, e. g. thread, which is 5 lapped in helical turns progressively along the length of the core thread.

In one form of apparatus a core thread to be covered is passed progressively through a hollow spindle, and covering thread unwinding over the .end of a bobbin rotating about the axis of the spindle is taken to the core thread and caused, by the rotation of the bobbin, to lap around the core thread in helical turns. For complete covering of the core thread the rate of travel of w the core thread and the rate of rotation of the covering thread bobbin are adjusted so that the turns of covering thread lie closely adjacent to each other on the core thread.

Cored threads may be used to form either part m or the whole of fabrics or garments in which it is desired to employ the characteristics of such threads. For example, an elastic-cored thread may be used to form the whole or part of a fabric or garment in which elasticity is desired, the covering of such thread usually ,being or the same material as any non-elastic thread used in the fabric or garment, and the covered thread frequently being of the same size as such other thread, it often being considered important that the insertion of the elastic thread should be effected without any apparent visible change in. a

the structure of the fabric orgarment. Complete and even covering is, therefore, most de sirable. I

35 The very flexible and yielding nature of an elastic core thread however leads to difficulty in the covering operation, since the pull of the rotating covering thread tends to draw the elastic core thread away from the axial line of the hollow spindle and so to cause the core thread to rotate about such line at the point of its emergence from the spindle. Such rotation of the elastic thread sets up a condition under which it is very diflicult to apply an even covering to the thread, even if, as is usual, the elastic thread is somewhat stretched during the lapping opera-' tion. The difficulty may become so serious as to cause the core thread to lie outside the covering thread.

The object of the invention is to provide a thread lapping device which controls the core thread to be covered, and which is particularly useful in enabling an elastic core thread to be given a very even covering.

with this object in view the covering apparatus according to the invention comprises a hollow spindle through which the core thread is passed, the spindle being adapted to support a bobbin for rotation thereof. A ring-andtraveller device arranged co-axially ,with the 5 hollow spindle is disposed near to the bobbin so as to unwind the covering thread from the bobbin on rotation of the bobbin, and a rotatable disc disposed co-axially with the hollow spindle, at a point removed from the vicinity of the 10 ring-and-traveller device, guides the covering thread from such device towards the point of application of the covering thread to the core thread.

The end of the hollow spindle through which the core thread emerges to be covered terminates beyond the disc as a ball or knob, over the surface of which the covering thread passes from the edge of the disc to the point of its application to the core thread. The hollow spindle is preferably disposed vertically, the core thread passing from a source of supply, e. g. a package disposed below the spindle, upwardly through the hollow spindle, and out of the spindle through the bore of the ball knob at the extremity thereof.

The diameter of the bore of the ball or knob at the end of the hollow spindle is preferably only just in excess of the diameter of the core thread so that, in addition to restraining lateral play and rotation of the core thread at the point of its emergence from the ball knob, the lapping thread, in passing over the surface of the ball or knob, is guided and controlled up to a point as near as possible to the core thread.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a covering machine; and

Fig. 2 is a front elevation, partly in section, of one ,of the covering devices of the machine.

At the lower end of a frame 3 a supply bobbin 4 containing the core thread 5 to be covered is mountedfor delivery of the thread at a predetermined rate. For this purpose, the 'bobbin 4 rests on a drum 6 driven at a constant speed from a shaft 1 through friction gears 8.

At the other end of the frame 3 a take-up bobbin 9 is similarly driven at a predetermined peripheral speed from a shaft [0 through.friction gears it and drum I2, covered thread l3 being traversed along the bobbin 9 by a guide It carried by a traverse bar it.

Between the supply and take-up devices are mounted two covering devices 6, H, similar in construction to each other but arranged that the bobbins it of covering thread carried thereby are rotated in opposite directions. Each bobbin I8 is mounted on a hollow tube l9 carried in a bearing 20, a wharl 21 providing for the driving of the tube.

A ring 22 is carried by a plate 23 just above the upper flange of the bobbin l8, the thread 24 leaving the bobbin passing through the traveller 26, on the ring. The hollow tube I9 terminates in a disc 26 some distance above the ring 22 and a stationary spindle 21 projects through the tube to terminate in a knob 28.

The thread 24 passes over the disc 26 (rotating at the same speed as the bobbin l8) and over the stationary surface of the knob 28 to be lapped round the core thread 6 emerging from the bore 29 of theknob.

Since the spindle 21 is stationary, the core thread 5 does not come into contact with any moving part of the apparatus, and since the guide disc 26 rotates with the tube IS the covering thread is not subjected to excessive tension while passing over the disc. If desired, the knob 28 may be formed with a flange 3D to prevent the thread 24 passing from the disc 26 from spiralling round the knob from making contact with too much of the surface of the ,knob, the diameter of the flange being between those of the knob and the disc respectively.

The disc 26 and knob 28 are made to slip quickly on or off the tube l9- and spindle 21 respectively to allow of quick replacement of the bobbin l8.

Rotation of the core thread 5 is thus reduced to a minimum and the covering thread 24 being under the control of the traveller 25, the disc 26 and the knob 28, respectively, even and regular lapping of the core thread can be efiected even at high or very high speeds of operation.

Any type of core thread and lapping thread may be used in the apparatus according to the invention, for example an elastic core thread may be covered with natural materials such as cotton, wool or silk, or artificial materials such as cellulose acetate silk, viscose silk and like materials, or a cellulose acetate or other core thread may be covered with metallic tape or tinsel, e. g. copper or imitation gold tape. In the former case, the core thread is preferably covered with at least two covering threads which are wound round the core thread in opposite directions and balance any tendency to snarling or curling of the thread which might result from the application to the core thread of a single" covering thread only. In the latter case, a single covering is generally employed.

The rate of rotation of the covering bobbin or bobbins I8 is adjusted in accordance with the rate of travel of the core thread 5, this latter being constant by reason of the employment of the drum winding devices for supply and takeup of the thread. For the application of a tinsel covering, the rate of. rotation of the bobbin l8 should be such as to leave the resultant helical windings on the core thread slightly spaced apart. This avoids the product being unduly stiff.

With elastic cores, the core may be stretched to limit the amount of ultimate stretch in the covered product and to ensure that the turns of the covering thread are caused to contact closely with each other by the partial contraction of the core thread after the covering operation.

Thus, the shafts l' and ID may be connected by gearing 30 providing the necessary excess of speed of the take-up device over the supply device.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. Apparatus for making cored thread, comprising a hollow spindle adapted to support a bobbin, means for rotating such bobbin, a knob on the end of the hollow spindle and having a hole formed therein to permit of the passage from the spindle of a core thread to be covered by thread unwinding from the bobbin, a ringand-traveller device disposed coaxially with the spindle and adapted to control the unwinding of the covering thread from the bobbin, and a rotatable disc disposed coaxially with the spindle between the knob and the ring-and-traveller device and adapted to guide the covering thread from the ring-and-traveller device to a point on the surface of the knob near to the hole.

2. Apparatus for making cored thread, comprising a hollow spindle, alrotatable tube on the spindle for supporting a,bobbin, means for rotating the tube, a knob on the end of the hollow spindle and having a hole formed therein to permit of the passage from the spindle of a core thread to be covered by thread unwinding from the bobbin, a ring-and-traveller device disposed coaxially with the spindle and adapted to control the unwinding of the covering thread from the bobbin, and a.- rotatable disc carried by the tube coaxially with the spindle between the knob and the ring-and-traveller device and adapted to guide the -.covering thread from, the ring and traveller device to a point on the surface of the knob near to the hole.

3. Apparatus. for making cored thread, comprising a stationary hollow spindle, a rotatable tube on the spindle for supporting a bobbin, means for rotating the tube, a knob on the end of the hollow spindle and having a hole formed therein to permit of the-passage from the spindle of a core thread to be covered by thread unwinding from the bobbin, a ring-andtraveller device disposed coaxially with the spindle and adapted to control the unwinding of the covering thread from the bobbin, and a rotatable disc carried by the tube coaxially with the spindle between the knob and the ring-andtraveller device and adapted to guide the covering thread from the ring-and-traveller device to a point on the surface of a knob near to the ole.

4. Apparatus for making cored thread, comprising a hollow spindle adapted to support a bobbin, means for rotating such bobbin, a flanged knob in the end of the hollow spindle and having a hole formed therein to permit of the passage from the spindle of a core thread to be covered by thread unwinding from the bobbin, a ringand-traveller device disposed coaxially with the spindle and adapted to control the unwinding of the covering thread from the bobbin, and a rotatable disc disposed coaxially with the spindle between the flanged knob and the ring-andtraveller device and adapted to co-operate with the flange of said knob to guide the covering thread from the ring-and-t'raveller device to a point on the surface of the knob near to the hole.

ROBERT PIERCE ROBERTS. WILLIAM HARRY KIIVIPTON. ROBERT McVANE DINGLEY. 

